She gave him a thumbs up, and I pursed my lips to hide a smile when I noticed her flushed face and neck.
Mr. Ribeiro nodded, and Rina glanced at me. When our eyes met, she gave me a subtle wink, followed by a wave, and then jogged up to her room, but not before kissing Mr. Ribeiro on the cheek.
That woman was an apocalypse waiting to happen.
I gently cleared my throat, put on my coat, grabbed the catalogs from the sofa, and pointed a thumb over my shoulder. “I should go. I’ll, uh, see you in the morning. I can start with the kitchen walls tomorrow, if that’s okay with you.”
“Sure,” Mr. Ribeiro stated.
“Great, then. Well, good night, sir.” I turned and made my way to the door. I’d only just touched its knob, though, when I halted, my heart in my throat, after I heard a sharptapof Mr. Ribeiro’s cane against the wooden railing.
“Myles?”
I didn’t face him; I couldn’t. The steel in his voice was enough to turn me immobile, for a bout of shame and guilt to wash over my pathetic conscience. “Yeah?”
“You’ve disappointed me, son,” he said stoically, right before he headed back upstairs.
I gritted my teeth as I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the door.
Fuck.
6. Te Amo
Iwoke to the elegant singing of blue jays outside my window, which made me smile. I say “singing” because they’re basically called songbirds, and I’ll forever prefer waking up totheirvoice than that of a blaring alarm siren.
I like what I like.
They’d started coming outside my room more and more over the last three years – since I’d had someone come in and attach a large food tray to the wall next to my window. It’s hard as it is for these birds to feed themselves properly, so I thought doing this little thing for them might help them in some way. Also, I just wanted an excuse to visit a pet store and buy fancy bird food for them.And, also because I really love their singing.
It’s mostly because of the latter, I promise.
I stretched and turned in bed, and groaned at the pressing pain in my lower back. Sleeping in the same position for too long was not something I did intentionally; it just happened sometimes.
I looked to my left, and smiled even bigger when I found my teal vacuum mug on the nightstand, with a small note placed under it. I sat up and quickly grabbed the former, and when I twisted open its cap, I sighed as the heady aroma of coffee hit me right in the face.
Heaven.
As I took a large swig of it, I grabbed the note and read it.
Eu te amo, minha Carina.
I love you, my Carina.
I touched the note to my chest for a brief moment, and then carefully put it in the 2nddrawer of my nightstand, where it joined more ofAvô’slittle notes to me over the years. I then grabbed my phone before sending him a text.
Me:Bom dia, Avô. Thank you for the coffee:’)Love you.
He responded a few minutes later, just as I was about to swallow another mouthful of coffee. Don’t judge.
Avô:You’re up. I figured I’d make coffee before Myles and his guys revoked kitchen access. They’re already at the house and working on the walls, by the way. Might be a while before we can use the area for cooking. You good for the afternoon? You can order takeout, or have lunch with Ashleigh during her work break.
Just the mention of Myles’s name made my breaths come in faster. God, why was I being like this, especially towards a guy who was a complete stranger?
I cleared my throat and typed a response.
Me:Yeah, I’m good. And yeah, you’re right; I’ll take lunch with Ash.
Me:Also, you always give me shit for going to the shop early, but look at you. It’s only 9 and you’re already there.
